The weekend was just okay… I mean, it was good, but maybe not great? I was up early both days- Saturday Asher had swim practice at 7, and Sunday I drove Ethan to work by 7. This isn’t a big deal, really, because I usually always wake up pretty early. But I do like having a day to sort of just lounge around, take it slow. (Normally Ivan would take at least one of the early drives, but he was up later both nights, so I ended up doing it.)
It didn’t help matters that on Saturday Ethan had a soccer game in Milwaukee at 7 p.m.– which meant we didn’t get home until after 10:30 p.m. Might have been almost 11, actually, because we stopped for Culver’s after the game.
Asher had had a soccer game about 35 minutes away earlier at 1 pm on Saturday, so Ivan took that one and I stayed home and went to the gym and did some other random things.
Sunday just felt a little more on the draining side versus restorative, but it also felt good to get some things done.
Ethan was at work all day, so that was kind of weird. It’s just odd for him to be away all day! Work is going well, but it’s a new experience for all of us. There’s a “learning curve”. We need to work out some kinks regarding how many hours exactly we should let him work, and when. More on this another time.
Ivan and I ran several errands, including a stop at Michael’s to pick up a new fall garland. (At this point, on stop #1, Ivan was already saying, “I should have just stayed home”. Oddly, he wasn’t excited to browse the fall decor??)
Then we hit up Target because I wanted to get a jump on buying some orange lights!! I always string some outside and I even put some up inside the house for Halloween. They can tend to sell out though, so I wanted to grab some early. We browsed around some other things, too. I bought Halloween frosting and cupcake stuff already. Feeling so proud of myself for doing this in advance!
Then, we got groceries. On Sunday afternoon. Our store is always soooo busy on the weekends. I’m trying to embrace a little better the fact that places are really busy on the weekends. I feel like I let this annoy me more than it should. I mean, duh. People are off on the weekends. I am ALSO one of these people who works during the week and is off on the weekends. Therefore, I am actively contributing to the crowds, and I have no right to be “crabby” because other people are also out shopping on the weekends! Ha. This feels like a mindset shift thing. I tried to view all the cars and people and be happy about it. People! In public! After the pandemic, THIS IS A GOOD THING!!! People are out and about and living life, as we should be, as innately social human beings! Yay! People are fueling the economy and visiting shops and restaurants and all the normal things. Anyway, I tried to catch my inner grumbling about the busy parking lots, and I think it helped a little, at least. 🙂
Asher had a 4 pm soccer game (in town), and then I made a shrimp ceviche for during the Packers vs Bears football game.
I don’t often drink much beer at home, but a crisp Corona with lime always goes soooo well with the freshness of a shrimp ceviche.
Yesterday I had a big case of the Mondays, though. I just felt blah all morning. I felt tired/ groggy and just not in the mood to work. I ended up skipping the gym (well, rescheduling to later in the day- I did go!) and parked myself at the bar in our basement with my laptop. Since I didn’t have any 1:1 training to do right away, I sat and did some more low key work while I rode out my cranky mood. I really wanted to catch some of the Queen’s funeral! I can’t say I follow the Royal Family closely, but this was a historic moment. So, I wanted to at least witness some of it.
I didn’t catch much of the commentary, but I saw bits and pieces at least. Very impressive event! I was so touched by the scene at the end when they sang the national anthem for the first time with the words “God save the KING”, instead of “Queen”, as it had been for so many years. They zoomed in on King Charles’ face, and it showed such overwhelming emotion!! My eyes teared up for him!
I also always enjoy the glimpses of George and Charlotte. It makes me wonder how they handle being under the parenting spotlight like that…. I texted my sister, “I always imagine Kate and William leaning over and saying, through gritted teeth, “So help me God, if you make one single scene during this event….“. hahaha! They are just kids, after all… I’m sure they have their moments. 😉
Anyway, the day got better, mostly, but as I told Ivan before bed, “This just wasn’t my most favorite day ever.” lol. Oh well. I guess the not-so-good days are needed to make the really good ones shine.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful to live in a house with many windows! I’ve been places in Central America where there are literally no windows in a house. So grateful to have windows. Do you ever think about your windows? 😉
GRATEFUL KAE 
I love seeing George and Charlotte as well. I remember seeing little Louis at an event and he was being very naughty; Kate was doing the scolding whisper that we all do!
Sorry your Monday was a MONDAY!
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Haha, yes, they were talking about Louis on the Today show this morning! Saying how he tends to be the “naughty one” (although he is only 4, to be fair). They left him out of the funeral activities- probably a smart choice. They may be royals, but underneath it all, they’re still just regular people! 🙂
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I refuse to go to the store on weekends unless it’s during a Packers or Badgers game. I just refuse. It’s not worth it to me. I try to remind myself that I LIKE people and I LIKE to see them out and about and I LIKE community, but as soon as someone blocks an entire aisle with themselves and their grocery cart, I forget all my positivity. LOL.
My husband and I were discussing the royal children in the car the other day. How much parenting do you think William and Kate do versus nannies? Do you think that when those children are being spoken to in whispered tones that it’s normal for them or is it unusual? I’m always curious about how much hands-on parenting is done in situations like that.
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Yup, totally get it. There was this one moment in front of the yogurt case that a lady was totally oblivious to the fact that, yo, other people also want to grab some yogurts! Hahaha. She was taking her sweet time picking between peach and raspberry. 😜 I was like, ok, deep breath, I am not in a hurry… repeat, I am not in a hurry…. Haha.
Re: the royals, well, I really have no idea, but I like to think Kate and William seem like pretty nice and down to earth-ish people? At least that’s the impression I get, based solely on appearances and nothing more!! But I just never get a dismissive vibe from them like they would just ignore their kids or not parent them… Kate always appears friendly and good natured and “motherly”, in my opinion! But like I said, no idea really. I feel like all parents and kids experience the whispered discipline thing, no matter what, so I feel like that’s probably a normal scenario for them too.
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I commented in my recap that the weekends tend to deplete me so I can relate to how you felt! Although we did not have late nights. My exhaustion is mostly due to the constant surveillance that will requires! It is just non-stop since he’s at an age where he gets into everything and wants to be on the big playground equipment with Paul, etc.
I have today off from work since I had a haircut and color at 12. It’s been a really nice day so far. It’s a reminder for me to do this more often. I have unlimited vacation time but try to target taking 6 weeks as that is what I used to get before they moved to ‘unlimited’. So many days off are spent with a sick kid or something like that which is not a fun way to spend a day off. But today has been delightful and I have done some productive things but it was enjoyable to go through the boys’ clothes without having a kid underfoot!
I didn’t watch any of the funeral coverage since my office is in the basement and we don’t have a tv down there. I want to see some of the coverage. I do not envy Kate and William and their public parenting. I remember an article from this summer about Louis seeing a plane during a special ceremony or something like that. His facial expressions were so adorable. But man having so many people’s eyes on you while parenting – or when you are a young kid – is hard!!
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I LOVE spotting George and Charlotte and Louis “in the wild.” I cannot believe how poised the older two seem at these events. It must be terribly boring – and also sad in this case? Also – at an event as long as the funeral, when do those kids eat and use the washroom? I was literally thinking this as they were trailing the coffin in a vehicle. It’s not like they can stop the car and let the kids run into a convenience store to pee.
I don’t envy William and Kate at all, but I do think that having a team to support you as you raise children would have certain advantages. A lot of the activities I have to do (laundry, cleaning, cooking – even scheduling IN a babysitter vs. constantly having someone there) make it hard to be “present” with my kids sometimes because there are so many competing pressures. So while they’d be away a lot, they would have top-tier support AND, maybe?, when they’re with their kids they can really focus in on spending quality time with them instead of puttering away at laundry.
I hear you on Monday. I felt completely and utterly burnt from the weekend. The kids were fighting a lot and had done too much time on screens…and then were off for the funeral because it has been declared a holiday for much of Canada. Glad you were feeling better by the end of the day, but it is a real drag to start the week that way. Sigh!
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Ivan did not enjoy browsing fall decor at Michaels? What?? LOL Which reminds me – I haven’t been to Michaels in FOREVER. I used to go there so frequently before the pandemic.
I did not follow the Queen’s funeral, but maybe I’ll catch some of it on YouTube – haha.
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we all have no great days, especially mondays I don’t know why. Sometimes be easy with oneself is the best way to ride over it.
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